Determining calcium carbonate neutralization kinetics from experimental laboratory data

In the framework of a research aimed at estimating the performance and lifetime of porous filters filled with marble powder and used to neutralize acid waters, we propose a mathematical model for determining the calcium carbonate reaction kinetics from some experimental data. In particular we show how to determine the order of the reaction and the reaction rate when calcium carbonate is immersed in a HCl solution. These parameters are evaluated by means of a fitting procedure based on least square methods. The experiments are performed using CaCO₃ in the form of a slab and powder and measuring (by means of BET analysis) the specific reaction surface.